Magellan Discoverer, World Voyager, Captain Arctic and Aureum are new expedition ships with first sailings running from this southern summer to the 2027/28 season.
Polar fleets are getting new faces. These new expedition ships start service between now and the 2027/28 season, and they range from a 36-guest sailing vessel with solar-panelled sails to a 168-passenger, all-suite ship built around science. Here is what each one brings, in the order they are due to sail.
Magellan Discoverer, Antarctica21
Antarctica21’s Magellan Discoverer is set to welcome its first guests on December 15, 2026, after sea trials in Chile. It was built at the ASENAV shipyard in Valdivia, the same yard that built sister ship Magellan Explorer, and it will sail Antarctic expeditions alongside that ship. The 94-metre, hybrid-electric vessel carries up to 88 guests on air-cruises and 96 on sea voyages. It replaces the chartered Ocean Nova.
Onboard, every cabin has a private balcony, and a spacious sauna looks out over ice-filled waters through a panoramic window. A wet and dry lab supports researchers collecting and analyzing marine samples from the Southern Ocean. Antarctica21 is known for its air-cruise format, which flies guests to King George Island to join the ship rather than sailing the Drake Passage, and Discoverer also sails sea voyages to Patagonia, the Chilean fjords, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.
World Voyager, Quark Expeditions
Quark Expeditions’ Antarctic 2026/27 season, its 35th in Antarctica, marks the debut of World Voyager, a 168-passenger, all-balcony expedition ship that is ice-classed (Ice Class 1B, per Quark’s brochure) and retrofitted for science and discovery. Quark has chartered it from Atlas Ocean Voyages for three Antarctic seasons, replacing World Explorer. The season runs 13 itineraries and 43 departures in total.
World Voyager is built around Quark’s Science & Discovery program, with a Science Hub where guests can share findings with scientists in residence and expedition guides. Quark’s itinerary brochures describe citizen science projects that include seabird surveys on deck, whale sighting logs on Zodiac cruises and water-sampling activities. The deck plan also lists a spa, a sauna and a clinic. Two new itineraries debut with the ship: Antarctic Marine Mammals: The World of Whales & Seals, an 11-day voyage focused on wildlife, and Antarctica by Helicopter: Crossing the Circle & the Peninsula, a 14-day expedition.
Captain Arctic, Selar
Selar’s Captain Arctic is the odd one out: a 70-metre vessel for the Arctic rather than Antarctica, with five rigid sails fitted with solar panels. It carries 36 guests and 24 crew, and is due for handover in Mauritius this month before entering Arctic service. Selar plans 14 departures in 2027, with voyages to Norway, Svalbard and Greenland, including Disko Bay and Scoresby Sund in summer and autumn.
Interiors are by French-Swedish designer Joséphine Fossey, and Selar says some expeditions will welcome artists-in-residence, from painters to musicians and writers. The French company was co-founded by Sophie Galvagnon, described as the first female Arctic captain, who will captain the vessel. Selar describes Captain Arctic as a near-zero-emission ship that is not an icebreaker, and says it will operate year-round in the Arctic. In 2027, the team plans to equip the ship to collect plastic waste in partnership with Clean Up Svalbard.
Aureum, Secret Atlas
The furthest out of the four is Aureum, from London-based Secret Atlas, which enters service for the 2027/28 Antarctic and South Georgia season. The purpose-built, ice-class explorer yacht carries just 36 guests in 22 cabins, including eight solo cabins, with one polar guide for every six guests and multiple Zodiacs so everyone can get on the water at once.
Onboard, expect a panoramic observation lounge, a wellness area with a sauna and outdoor hot tub, and a restaurant that seats everyone at once. Four programs are planned in partnership with Antarpply Expeditions: South Georgia In Depth Expedition and South Georgia & Antarctica – Shackleton Special, both from Ushuaia, plus Antarctic Circle By Air and Antarctic Peninsula By Air & Sea, flying from Puerto Natales, Chile, to shorten the Drake Passage crossing. Bookings are open for 2027/28 and 2028/29.
What to book first
Magellan Discoverer and World Voyager are the two sailing this Antarctic season, with Discoverer’s first departure just over a month away. Captain Arctic and Aureum are further out, so they are the ones to put in front of clients planning for 2027 and beyond. Two of the four, Discoverer and Aureum, use flights to skip the Drake Passage crossing, which is worth raising with clients who want Antarctica without the sea days. Departure details are on each operator’s website, and itineraries can shift while a new ship’s first programs ramp up, so confirm before committing.